Sports
Marathon Organisers Lament Failed N400m Deal
The Director-General, Onitsha Business School, Prof Olusegun Sogbesan, has regretted their inability to seal a five-year N400m sponsorship deal for the Onitsha City Marathon.
Sogbesan told journalists in Onitsha, Anambra State on Wednesday that the deal broke down due to the state government’s attitude towards endorsing the Marathon.
He said the state government’s approval was a precondition for willing sponsors to enter into agreement with the organisers and put down their money.
He said, “Lack of cooperation from the previous administration affected the sponsorship of the programme.
“We lost huge amount of money, Anambra State lost that money, and just one bank alone had agreed to sponsor the marathon to the tune of N400m for a five-year period.
“That would have helped to build three sports centres in the state; it would have improved the rating of the marathon itself with additional certification, added great value to the city and impacted greatly on the media community here.”
Sogbesan said the maiden edition of the marathon held in 2019 was a huge success in spite of the challenges, noting that it could not hold in 2020 due to COVID-19.
“We have not had the second edition of the Onitsha City Marathon because of the dysfunctional society and the people who are in positions that would have played the right roles that could have added value to the society.
“Not that the state will sponsor it, but some of the corporate organisations that indicated interest to sponsor it wanted to have confirmation from the state but, that, we lost,” he said.
The renowned professor said that the Onitsha City Marathon organisers had started a conversation with the new chairman of the Anambra Sports Development Commission, Patrick Onyedum.
He said the commission’s chairman had shown tremendous interest in the marathon and that negotiations were ongoing on how to return the marathon so that local and international long distance runners could compete for glory on the streets of Onitsha.
“We still have our certification; a visiting assessor from IAAF said Onitsha had the best marathon route in Africa. We are willing to work with the Anambra government to develop the sector,” Sogbesan added.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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